Consumer Advocacy Group Seeks Legislative and Regulatory Measure to End Misuse of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes

The Consumer Voice, an advocacy group for the elderly, has announced that it supports legislative and regulatory measures to end the misuse of antipsychotics in nursing homes. First, the organization is a proponent of the Improving Dementia Care Treatment for Older Adults Act. The bill would require that an informed consent form be signed by dementia patients or their caregivers informing them of the risks of taking antipsychotics. In addition, the law would require education for prescribers, as well as reports to be issued by facilities that prescribe antipsychotics for purposes not approved by the FDA. The bill would also require that the government conduct an extensive study on antipsychotic medications. In addition to supporting this law, the Consumer Voice also wants a regulatory measure requiring nursing homes to hire independent pharmacists to review patients’ medications. According to the group, such a measure would prevent patients from taking medications prescribed by doctors influenced by pharmaceutical sales representatives.

The Consumer Voice supports such measures because elderly patients taking antipsychotics are at risk of increased injury, harm, or even death. In 200, the FDA released a “black box” warning that stated that elderly dementia patients taking antipsychotics such as Seroquel, Risperdal or Zyprexa, are at an